And now, Network Ten\u2019s not-so new current affairs experiment which four months in\u00a0has struggled to get out of first gear:<\/p>\n
Channel Ten will trim its underperforming current affairs program, 10 News+, from one hour to 30 minutes as part of a broader overhaul of the network\u2019s 2026 line-up.<\/p>\n
– The Age, 30 October 2025<\/p>\n
Launched to great fanfare, Ten News+ \u00a0was an attempt to refashion television current affairs by going back to basics:<\/p>\n
DENHAM HITCHCOCK: If it affects your life, we\u2019ll ask the tough questions\u00a0<\/p>\n
AMELIA BRACE: Join us for more than just the headlines<\/p>\n
– 10 News+ Promo<\/p>\n
Poached from rival network Seven, hosts Amelia Brace and Denham Hitchcock promised in-depth reporting and a big-picture perspective on the news of the day.<\/p>\n
The program opened strongly with the story of an Australian woman jailed overseas and occasionally shone, like in July when it scooped its rivals landing an interview with Greens candidate and protestor Hannah Thomas whose treatment by police is now the subject of a criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n
But pitted against Seven and Nine\u2019s 6pm news bulletins, which together typically attract more than two million viewers, Ten News+ \u00a0was swiftly looking more like Ten News Minus: \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026 in its first week on air \u2026 [The show] averaged just 211,000 viewers nationally. Four weeks later, its audience had dwindled to 149,000 \u2026<\/p>\n
– The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 August 2025<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the program was pummeled by its critics, maligned for its terrible ratings and sledged by a panellist on the show that Ten News Plus had replaced. \u00a0<\/p>\n
That show, The Project, was cancelled in June after Network Ten\u2019s boss Beverley McGarvey decided she could no longer afford to pay its external production company Roving Enterprises, nor the hefty salaries of its star panellists.<\/p>\n
But the show was axed with no firm plan as to what would replace it.<\/p>\n
And when the news division proposed a half-hour current affairs program at one-sixth the cost of the Project, McGarvey loved it so much she insisted it be stretched to 60 minutes with no additional resources.<\/p>\n
But is returning the show to its original 30-minute format going to work?<\/p>\n
Not everyone is convinced:<\/p>\n
The 10 Network has long been associated with light entertainment \u2026 10 News+ is the exact opposite \u2026 It is like Goldie Hawn suddenly deciding to do Shakespeare.<\/p>\n
– Email, Colin Vickery, TV Columnist, 30 October 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n
While media economist Peter Cox offered this remarkable declamation:<\/p>\n
\u2026 no longer should all networks be required to provide a news service as part of their broadcasting licence \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ten News should be dropped altogether.<\/p>\n
– Email, Peter Cox, Cox Media, 30 October 2025\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not sure we agree, Peter.<\/p>\n
Ten\u2019s news boss Martin White told us the show was attracting a growing online audience, adding:<\/p>\n
When it comes to ratings \u2013 we\u2019re aware of the challenges, but it\u2019s not all about linear TV in this era of storytelling \u2026 A half-hour slot will suit the core DNA of the bulletin better \u2026 \u00a0<\/p>\n
– Email, Martin White, VP News Paramount, 31 Oct 2025<\/p>\n
We certainly hope that\u2019s the case, because Australia\u2019s news media landscape needs more, not fewer, serious journalists trying to do serious things.<\/p>\n
Which is why Ten must in 2026 stand by its commitment to give this show every chance at success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And now, Network Ten\u2019s not-so new current affairs experiment which four months in\u00a0has struggled to get out of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-259837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}